In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Emily Man of Primary Ventures to map out where value actually accrues in the AI economy. They break down the 5 layers of the AI stack and why Emily believes the next era of AI adoption will be driven by diffusion through apps rather than smarter models alone.

—

SPONSORS:

Abacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made.

Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.

RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cj

Fidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.com

Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj

Cloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.co

Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics

EY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups

—

LINKS:

Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN

Guest: linkedin.com/in/emily-man-02a1a486

Company: https://www.primary.vc/

CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

—

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Cold Opens

1:12 Meet Emily Man, Primary Ventures

2:01 What's Exciting in Venture Right Now

3:09 The 5 Layers of the AI Stack

4:08 Where Funding Has Focused So Far

5:54 Diffusion Through Apps

9:30 "Enough" Intelligence

17:11 Payroll vs. Compute Ratio

23:01 Alex Karp and "Owning Your Weights"

24:05 On-Prem vs. Cloud, Again?

30:53 Models vs. Loops

32:34 Software Goes Headless

34:14 Pre-2022 SaaS Companies

36:29 The Roadkill Bucket

41:42 The Vibe-Coding Backlash

44:55 Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

48:03 When AI Agents Talk to Each Other

49:43 Creating Alpha Without Being AI-Native

51:01 Better Questions, Brought to You by EY

51:16 The Future CFO Tech Stack

#RunTheNumbersPodcast #AIforCFOs #FinanceLeadership #Zuora #GoingPrivate

Why Owning Your Data Is the New Moat | Primary Venture's Emily Man

Run the Numbers

Why Owning Your Data Is the New Moat | Primary Venture's Emily Man